Chapter 126: Rikkai vs. Rokurigaoka, a Victory Without Suspense

"Then what about you, Master? Since Echizen and Tezuka of Seigaku have both opened the gates to the Selfless State."

"As an even more formidable Master, have you already opened the limit of Peerless Perfection?"

Kirihara asked Takahashi again, his words filled with anticipation.

As soon as these words were spoken, the gazes of Sanada and Yanagi also shifted toward Takahashi.

Takahashi looked at their eager gazes and felt a bit awkward for a moment.

"No. I can't play happy tennis."

Kirihara felt a bit disappointed and said, "Does that mean not a single person in our Rikkai has touched the limit of Peerless Perfection?"

Takahashi said speechlessly, "Those Three Great Doors of the Selfless State aren't that terrifying. As long as the tennis ball you hit is fast enough that the opponent can't even touch the ball, then the Selfless State has no threat at all."

Yanagi Renji realized what he meant and said, "Is that the move the Captain used against Echizen at the Kanto Tournament?"

"Crushing the opponent with powerful fundamental strength."

Takahashi nodded and said, "Yes, that's exactly what I mean."

"Even if not a single person in Rikkai has reached the limit of Peerless Perfection, we can still win."

"The throne of the National Tournament champion belongs only to our Rikkai."

……

Just as the four were chatting, the match on the court had already ended; relying on the limit of Thousand-Fold Refinement, Tezuka successfully defeated Kite Eishiro with a score of 6-2, easily securing the victory.

"Huh? Captain, why are you all here?"

Yagyu Hiroshi's voice rang out behind Takahashi and the others.

Seeing Yagyu drenched in sweat, Kirihara asked, "What did you go do? You're covered in sweat."

Yagyu pushed up his glasses and said, "I went to teach our next opponents a lesson."

Yanagi Renji said, "Rokurigaoka?"

"That team's strength is extremely mediocre, and their reputation isn't very good; they always like to provoke their opponents before the match to force them to reveal their moves, so they can collect data."

"It's best to ignore such clowns."

Yagyu said, "I know that, so I used Kirihara's signature move to teach them a lesson, not my own."

"Mainly because the things they were saying were truly too nasty."

Takahashi became interested and said, "Was it directed at me? Tell me about it."

Yagyu said, "It wasn't directed at the Captain; it was directed at Vice Captain Sanada."

Takahashi was surprised and said, "Sanada is such a serious, earnest, and diligent person; what could they possibly say about him?"

Yagyu glanced at Sanada and said, "At other match venues, they were loudly proclaiming that Vice Captain Sanada is useless, that even after three years he can only manage to be a Vice Captain. In the past there was Captain Yukimura, and now there is Captain Takahashi; Sanada can only ever be the eternal runner-up."

"Pfft!"

Kirihara couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Sanada immediately glared fiercely at Kirihara.

Takahashi couldn't help but chuckle either, and looking at Sanada's darkened expression, he suddenly remembered the events of the day of the draw.

So that's how it is!

Takahashi patted Sanada on the shoulder like a buddy and said, "Don't be angry! We'll settle the score on the court tomorrow; we won't let it wait more than two nights."

"The first match has to go the full five sets, right? Since that's the case, I'll reluctantly make an appearance myself to help you get your dignity back."

"How could anyone look down on the Vice Captain of our Rikkai!"

……

The next day.

Inoue Mamoru and Shiba Saori were hurrying toward the match venue.

Shiba complained, "The traffic on the road today was too bad; we ended up being nearly 50 minutes late."

Inoue said, "Stop complaining and walk faster. Rikkai has to play all five matches today; if we go now, we should still be able to see the remaining one or two."

As they spoke, the two hurried toward Rikkai's match venue.

As they neared the venue, they heard deafening cheers.

"Wangzhe Rikai Da! Victory!"

"Wangzhe Rikai Da! Victory!"

The scene was filled with a lively and joyful atmosphere; the cheers and applause of the audience were endless.

"The match couldn't be over already, could it?"

Shiba said.

"That can't be right. We're 50 minutes late; they couldn't have finished five matches in 50 minutes!"

Inoue was also feeling uncertain.

The teams that enter the National Tournament are the best in their respective regions; even if Rikkai is strong, it's impossible to finish 5 matches in under an hour, right!

But the atmosphere at the scene was particularly like a celebration for the winners after a match.

A helpful spectator spoke up, "The match is already over; look at the score over there!"

Following the direction of the spectator's finger, Inoue and Shiba were shocked to see large numbers recorded on the display screen beside the court.

Five matches, all 6-0!

"This..."

"Five matches were actually finished in less than an hour?"

Shiba felt it was incredible.

The helpful spectator explained to the two, "Today's match was truly spectacular. Rokurigaoka's strength was completely crushed by Rikkai; they couldn't even get a single point."

"Especially in Singles 1, the Captain of Rikkai only spent 5 minutes to end the match."

Inoue repeated in disbelief: "5 minutes?"

An enthusiastic spectator said: "That's right, the whole thing was scored through serves and service returns; apart from their own service games, the opponent didn't even touch a single ball, so how could it not be fast?"

"I didn't expect to see such a disparity in strength between teams in the National Tournament; Rikkai truly lives up to being the kings!"

"You all came late; it's a real pity you didn't see it."

Inoue exclaimed: "I originally thought my evaluation of Takahashi Yanichi was already very high, but it seems his strength is even more formidable than I imagined."

"Ending a match in 5 minutes, and in the National Tournament at that—this must be setting a record!"

Shiba said with some disappointment: "Yesterday, in the match between Seigaku and Higa, they also won all five matches, but they took much longer."

"It must be because Rokurigaoka's strength is too weak, and Higa's strength is too strong."

"Seigaku's Captain Tezuka has been noticed by professional players; he is a middle school student personally invited by the D Guo U17 Training Camp!"

Inoue said: "Takahashi was also invited by Japan U17, and he is only in his first year of middle school, while Tezuka is already in his third."

"However, I am also quite curious; after healing his arm and training at D Guo U17, Tezuka's strength must have improved significantly. Between him and Takahashi now, who is actually stronger?"

"I hope to see a duel between the two captains of Seigaku and Rikkai in this National Tournament."

……

Rikkaidai Tennis Club.

Several days have passed since the first match of the National Tournament.

On this day, Sanada and Yanagi found Takahashi, who was watching the club members practice by the side of the Court.

"Is something the matter?"

Takahashi looked at the two approaching him and asked.

"For the next match, our opponent is Hyotei."

Yanagi Renji spoke up.

"Oh!"

Takahashi responded indifferently.

"I didn't expect to run into Hyotei so soon; Hyotei is really miserable this year."

"They were eliminated by Seigaku in the first round of the Kanto Tournament. Because Tokyo is the host for this year's National Tournament, Hyotei managed to get a ticket to the National Tournament through a recommendation."

"Now that they've run into us so soon, they're going to be miserably eliminated again. How pitiful!"

Kirihara, who was nearby, walked over with a tennis racket and said.

"Kirihara, you must not underestimate your opponent like that."

"Hyotei defeated the hegemon of the Kyushu region, Shishigaku Middle School, this time, and they won with an overwhelming 5-0 victory."

"Presumably, losing the first match of the Kanto Tournament to Seigaku previously made them start striving for excellence."

"We must take such an opponent seriously."

Sanada said to Kirihara sternly.